Cold
by Viewing Pleasure
Summary: Shinra is rebuilt, the Turks are back together, and new monsters have appeared that appear like evil wraiths attacking Midgar...what will happen? Reno's POV
1. Another Normal Day

Well here's another of my attempts to write something, so I hope that people will actually read it this time. If I get a lot of reviewers I will continue it; work must be rewarded with criticism good or bad after all, otherwise I'm just writing it for myself. Some of you might not like my style of writing; I like to jump around a lot (figuratively speaking) in this chapter, but it helps portray the feelings of my character, which just happens to be Reno, the little red-haired fiend.

So no one gets confused, this takes place after the Advent Children movie, so there just might be spoilers within it. I'm fairly sure I didn't reveal too much about it. Anyway, every story has one of these...yup...you guessed it, DISCLAIMERS! You got them! Right here! The song represented before the title is "Scars" by Papa Roach, the one at the end is "Sugar We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy. I don't own Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy Advent Children, or the characters represented within them.

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_My scars remind me that the past is real…I tear my heart open just to feel—"Scars" Papa Roach: Getting Away with Murder_

**Cold**

_Make the pain go away…_

_What is this gathering on my fingertips?_

_R…Rude?_

_Where are you?_

_Why do I…why do I feel so…cold?_

_Elena…Tseng…what…oh my god…what happened?_

………………………………………………………………

**3 Weeks Ago**

"It starts around here and…"

**SNORT**

"And…Reno! **Reno**! Wake up!"

"H-huh! What!"

"You were asleep…listen, I'm not going to put up with your shit for much longer! Now keep your eyes open, or, god forbid, I'll keep them open myself!"

"Easy, boss, stay cool, there's no need to fly off the handle."

"Stay cool…humph…spoken like a true loser."

What was the point of me staying awake? I mean it wasn't as if the boss had anything important to say. We never broke from the usual routine. Rufus would give us a briefing, we'd gather our things and board the helicopters, and the whole trip would end up being just one big waste of time. I mean, it's not like we ever found anything, you know?

Eh, for you to understand what I'm talking about, I suppose I'd have to go even further back right? Well, ever since Cloud Strife and his friends defeated Yazoo, Kadaj, and Loz…reports of strange occurrences had been popping up. Like just a few days ago, a family had been shred to bloody pieces by a monster which strangely resembled a wraith. It had first torn open the husband, feasting on the poor man's innards bit by bit, as if to torture him, and then the creature moved onto the other family members…I had gagged when I saw it. Such a monstrosity should not be allowed to exist in the world.

Now that you've been properly filled in, you should know what our mission is…we are to find the cause of these appearances. So far, we'd received no help from the Ex-soldier or his buddies; we were pretty much on our own.

"Just outside of Midgar there will be a caravan which will be used to lure out the monsters. It contains the Lifestream substance that appeared in the church of the slums, and our researchers assure us that it will attract the fiends responsible for plaguing our city…" Rufus began as he straightened his tie, his eyes examining each of us carefully to see if we were still listening, "That is where you all come in…Reno, Rude! You two will scout ahead of the truck and make sure it has a clear escape route if things get out of hand; we may be using this Lifestream substance to get the monsters to come out, but we can't allow them to get their hands on it. Tseng, Elena! You will be the ones driving the car…you are all to keep constant radio contact to make sure this job goes smoothly. Understood?"

"Let's just get going, yo; I'm tired of waiting." I interrupted, an over-exerted yawn escaping my lips.

"Well, since you're so eager to start this mission, you will be the one in charge of filing the reports when this is all finished."

"S-say what! You…you bast…"

"Reno…hold your tongue…"

"What'd you say, Tseng! You want to start something!"

I felt Rude's hand upon my shoulder as he tried to calm me down, "Easy, buddy…"

"Yeah, yeah…but for the record, he started it, yo."

"You all know your missions, so get going already! Dismissed!" the voice of our boss rang loudly, I rubbed the backs of my ears tenderly afterwards. Rude and I both got up from our chairs as we turned to leave; my partner was carefully dusting off his bluish sleeves with a simple flick of the wrist.

I watched as Tseng nonchalantly left the room, Elena sticking to his heels like a lost puppy as always. Don't get me wrong, Tseng wasn't such a bad guy…but he was so…so serious all the time, it pissed me off. But he wasn't really the reason for my horrible mood; in fact, I usually wouldn't have gotten into an argument with him like the one in the meeting. Rude wouldn't be able to handle the news…or maybe he would, it was always so hard to tell with him, but I kept it from him anyway. I certainly wouldn't want him to know that Shinra Company planned to have me…

"Reno, you coming…?"

"Uh, yeah Rude, just give me a second."

"Okay…"

"I won't make you wait too long, so don't worry about it."

"Worry about something like that…never…"

I dropped my gaze at that very moment; maybe it was guilt, maybe it was fear, I don't know. Rude seemed to recognize it for a moment, and then went along with his business as if nothing had happened. A hand went up to rub my chin, and a bit of stubble scratched against my fingertips; how long had it been since I'd given myself a shave? Could have been days, months, even years for all I knew. No I told myself, I'm fairly sure it hadn't been years. After all, I'd found out what Shinra was going to do to me only about three months ago.

At that thought, my eyes glazed over and I stared with a strange sort of dullness at the doorway leading me to Rude's position. Suddenly, a flashback overtook me and I was somewhere else. My lungs were filling with oxygen chilled by winter air…winter air…where the hell had I experienced air like this before? Then I remembered the crater, the place where all my fearful memories originated from. Tseng and Elena had nearly been lost to us forever, and the image of Jenova's head still haunted me in my sleeping hours like an ominous shroud.

_"Reno! Go, go! We can't let them get the head!"_

_"But Tseng, I can't let them get you and…"_

_"JUST GO!"_

My body followed these familiar images against my will. The horror…a bullet whizzed just past Elena's head, only to lodge itself in Tseng's arm. His scream of pain was unparalleled by anything I'd ever experienced before; it caused instant panic to fill my heart. I boarded the helicopter just in time to hear another shot ricochet off of one of the steel handles beside the entrance into the helicopter and burned my hand as it flew by with great intensity; I remember the aching it caused for many days later.

Tears were flowing freely from my eyes when I took off into the snowy sky. I was crying for Tseng, I was crying for Elena, I was crying for Shinra, I was crying for the Ex-soldier bastard and his buddies, I was crying for Rude…but most of all I was crying for myself. I bawled like a baby, nearly crashing into a mountaintop in the process; how could something go so horribly wrong? We'd been sent to get the body of Jenova…not fight some hellish spawn of Sephiroth! And now Elena and Tseng…oh god…oh god, oh god…oh my god…

"Reno? You okay?" a voice questioned, bringing me instantly back to the here and now, namely facing the doorway leading to where Rude was still waiting for me.

My eyes regained their usual life and landed on the face of the boss. "Sir…I'm fine." My usual "yo" was unspoken this time, I was still taken aback by the sudden flashback I'd just had. Why would I remember such a thing at such a time? Perhaps it had to do with Shinra's plans for me…all the horror…if they did what they were going to do, was any of it worth it? I'd rather have died back then instead of letting Tseng and Elena get captured.

Rufus examined me cautiously one last time, as if he expected me to feint at any moment—my face must've looked pale as hell—before he finally left to do whatever business needed doing.

The doorway felt icy cold as one of my hands helped me through it, reminding me again of the chaotic crater foreboding in and of itself…going back there would mean the devastation of my sanity. Dark corners had seemed as if something would leap out at you from them at any moment. I put on a smile for my partner Rude as I exited out into the hall; as usual he cocked his head towards me without a word escaping his lips.

There was a strange tenseness within me as we traveled down the long corridor which seemed to get longer every second. I could still feel Rude's unwavering gaze upon me, so I played the role of good old Reno, "This job sounds like a real bitch, yo. I can't believe we ever got stuck with this cruddy assignment; what do we hope to solve anyway?"

A grunt reached my ears; was he really clueless, or was he was just toying with me like a child plays with his or her favorite plaything? I was becoming paranoid, more so than I'd ever been before. Rude was my partner in almost any job Shinra handed to us; we were together or we worked solo, we gave them no other options. If I couldn't trust him then who could I trust?

"Did you hear me, yo? I asked…"

"I heard you…but think about it…has Shinra ever told us more than what we absolutely need to know…?"

"No…" That was it, plain and simple. As always, he spoke the truth, a dark truth maybe, but a truth all the same. We were the Turks! We were supposed to know the ins and outs of everything that went on in Shinra Company, yet we were as clueless as newborn animals with our eyes sealed shut.

The both of us entered an elevator and I saw Rude fixing his sleeves yet again; the second time today since the meeting. He stopped only long enough to push the button that would lead us downward.

My head bowed forward as I recalled the flashback of only a few minutes ago; it was my own personal hell.

"Reno…what's up…you've acted strange since the meeting…"

"Shinra, Rude…Shinra wants to…" My mouth was having troubles forming the words they so desperately wanted to hide.

"They want to what?" His eyes took on a sort of interest I rarely saw in them.

"…They want to murder me, yo…"

_I've been dying to tell you anything you want to hear cuz that's just who I am this week—"Sugar We're Going Down" Fall Out Boy: Sugar, We're Going Down

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Well, that was basically it, so...yeah. I'm not sure when I'll get the next addition up, but I'll be sure to do my best on it. Well, review and all that good stuff; I'd really like some comments. This is my fourth attempt at a writing. Two of my others died of non-reviewing, so don't let this one end up the same way.


	2. Messengers of Evil

Alright, there are a couple new additions I'd like to make. A friend of mine has asked to read and edit my chapters from now on, so I hope that his additions will greatly improve the story. So from now on, whenever heedits a chapter I will see to it that he gets proper thanks.

Now, I'm sad to say it, but three reviews is a new record for me, which means I plan to continue this story. The edits Cless Alvein(my editor now) made somehow got lost, so I had to redo them by memory, _darn OpenOffice program. _Anyway, there's some action in this chapter, so I'm hoping you'll all enjoy that. Happy Reading...

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**Messengers of Evil**

Written by: Viewing Pleasure--Editedby: Cless Alvein

"They want to what! That's crazy…it has to be a misunderstanding."

I shook my head at how naïve his thoughts were; Shinra was capable of destroying the world if they wanted to, they and the people working within could do anything once they set their minds to it. If they failed they kept trying; their stubbornness was like hell itself to face. "I didn't misunderstand anything, yo, I heard them myself the day I walked past the unauthorized room; you know the one. Apparently I haven't been up to their standards lately…so they plan to have me killed.

"…Well…I guess we'll have to show them who's boss when the time comes, huh?"

"Yeah, Rude, I guess, yo."

"You…guess? That doesn't sound like the Reno I know. Where's your confidence?"

Was I ready to tell him about the crater, the place my thoughts constantly chased after? My devil, my Grim Reaper, my death, my hell, it was all waiting for me there. In my dreams, I had seen my body mutilated in hundreds—if not thousands—of different ways in that crater. One particular nightmare placed me standing before a shadowy figure with a long slender claw facing outwards toward me; long silvery hair seemed to flow from behind where its head belonged…except, I knew it wasn't Sephiroth, it was too heart-stopping, too cold, too…too inhuman. The scraggly looking finger would reach out to my face, and thoughts of how I would scream if it touched me came freely. It would feel like I would go crazy if it was placed anywhere on my skin. Then just before it reached my right cheek I would…

"…Ahem…"

"Oh, sorry, yo, I was off in la-la-land for a minute there."

"Sounds like a real fine place; is the rent any good?"

"Oh yeah, perfect, yo, it even comes with a pool."

"But you still haven't answered my question…if what you say is true I can't have you, excuse me for saying, breaking down when your time finally comes. I won't let them hurt you…neither will Tseng or Elena."

"Thanks, yo. I'll stop being so pessimistic and start psyching my ego up so when we fail I can feel even worse."

"That wasn't my…oh forget I said anything…"

We both grinned and managed to chuckle a bit; strange how someone can laugh at death. But I was scared, frightened beyond anything I'd ever felt before. My heart felt like it would pop at any moment, sending my life spiraling with it into the deep abyss. Sweat emerged onto my palms, creating a sort of oily consistency across the skin. It even seemed harder to breathe in and out regularly, almost as if my lungs were refusing the air as a shopper might refuse his or her change after paying the clerk too much Gil.

The elevator made its ever familiar "**Bing!**" as we reached our stop. I glanced over at Rude, and he looked right back at me. With a curt nod, I exited the elevator first, Rude not far behind, and began to head towards the exit of Shinra Corporation out onto the helo-pads. A few annoying office nerds stared at us like we had both grown an extra head or something similarly surprising. Rude took a threatening step toward them, scaring them enough into returning to their own jobs. We didn't like to feel like sideshow freaks at a carnival when he had to cross through this particular part of Shinra Co.

"Reno! Reno! Is that you!" A female shouted to me from behind, causing a sigh to escape my lips.

I faced Rude long enough to tell him to go on without me, "Tell the pilot to prepare for take-off, I won't be long." He glanced at the girl approaching from behind me and began heading for the door again…he didn't want to speak to her anymore than I did.

"Hey, Pree…um, I'm kind of on a mission, so I don't really have time to talk right now."

A look of great displeasure and disappointment spread across her face, making me feel like a real zero, "Oh…I see…sorry for bothering you." Her full name was Priella Ino, but everyone preferred to call her Pree; it made things easier in conversation. I wanted to apologize immediately for making her so down, however it was really her fault; lately she'd been too clingy. Maybe she had some sort of crush on me, maybe she didn't, but whenever I was around her we seemed to get into some sort of romantic situation. Like the one time where we'd gone out for a walk and ended up at her house by the end of the night…she'd wanted something to happen that I could not commit myself too…I didn't like her as anything but a friend.

"Wait a minute, I'm sorry. Maybe we can get together later for a cup of coffee or something, I promise."

A smile seemed to tug at the corners of her mouth as she replied, "Alright, but don't forget, you promised me!"

And then I thought, what would happen if Shinra knew about my friendship with Pree? If I ran away might they use her against me? I couldn't let that happen, I just couldn't…

"You…you better get moving now, Reno. Rude's been waiting for a good few minutes now."

"You're right, I'll see you later." A long and awkward moment of silence arose and then completely disappeared as a large explosion erupted from the helo-pad. My eyes widened, and in a state of panic I ran forward and threw the door open to see if Rude was okay.

My throat ached as I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Rude! Rude! Where are you! Rude! Answer me, yo!"

"I'm right here…you don't have to yell so loud…" a voice mumbled from beneath a bit of rubble, causing me to feel much more at-ease. I tossed countless chunks of cement out of the way before I finally began to see any of his body. My fingers were scratched and burned like a paper-cut after having touched the rough aftermath of whatever had blown up on the helo-pad.

"What happened, yo? I couldn't see anything from inside."

"The idiot pilot lit a cigarette next to one of the fuel tanks and blew himself up…he's not dead, but he's going to need medical attention immediately." As he said this, Pree was already emerging from the door with two surgeons behind her. That pilot was going to be in the Burn Ward for a long time without a doubt.

"They always say smoking can kill you; I guess he's the proof yo." This time Rude didn't laugh, though I knew he was dying to on the inside.

It was one of those things where if you laughed you felt guilty, almost as if you had hurt the person yourself; pain and death was everywhere in the world, and anyone who was dumb enough to cause it to themselves deserved to be laughed at…but that wasn't true, for everyone who gets hurt or dies in some way did cause it to happen. Maybe they stopped their diet for a single day and had a major coronary a few days later, or else they forgot to check their tires and on the drive through town a flat tire caused them to slide directly into oncoming traffic…fate was as cruel as death itself. But fate gave us chances, chances to save ourselves, but despite his generosity he also made them the hardest things to discern from the norm.

We boarded the helicopter—which was fine except for a few scratches—and after pressing a few buttons I started to fly us out of Midgar with a strange calm.

Rude was dusting off his sleeves again; the third time today.

"So do you have any idea where the heck we're supposed to wait for the caravan?"

"Not really, no. All we were told was that we were supposed to look out for a green signal…" It was then that my eyes glimpsed a small light with a greenish hue down below being waved around frantically, obviously trying to catch our attention.

"I guess that's our cue, yo."

Rude, appearing tense, locked his eyes on the sky almost as if he was looking for something. The clouds were dark and a thunderous clap could be heard in the distance. A forced laugh escaped my lips, "We always get the crappy jobs, yo."

**Cssshhht!**

The radio sprung to life, causing the both of us to jump in surprise, "Rude or Reno, come in, do you read me? Over…"

"We read you loud and clear, Tseng," I landed the helicopter safely before the technician who'd flagged us down, "You guys almost ready, yo? Over."

"Almost…Elena is having problems with the gate officer; he won't let us out unless the boss authorizes it. She's told him a million times this is for a mission given to us by Rufus himself, but the fool won't even listen. The two of you can start scouting ahead; I'll contact you when we're on our way. Over and out…"

Now the small device returned to a dull sequence of crackling. "Well you heard him, yo, let's get going." A sigh escaped my lips before I took my first step out towards the fields surrounding Midgar. I broke into a short sprint with Rude close on my tail; I was heading directly for the summit of a nearby hill, there I could get a sneak peek at what we could expect for this mission.

The heel of my left foot froze for a moment and I was nearly sent flying over the top of the hill. "That was a close one, yo; I guess I should be more careful…" Suddenly I couldn't hear anything, not even Rude's breathing. My eyes widened as they spotted dark wraiths everywhere, hundreds, no thousands, no…I couldn't even count them all; they were making screeching howls that could pierce my eardrums alone.

My hand released the radio, allowing it to hit the dirt with a clatter, and a voice erupted from it, "Reno! We're coming, what's your situation?"

"…"

"Reno! What's going on!"

It took everything I had to begin moving again; the creatures sent fear rushing up my spine just looking at them. Their claws were sharp and formed in odd angles, covered with what appeared to be mud; they had glowing eyes, and a head that twitched around in all sorts of strange positions. A sort of bluish air emerged from their mouths like a human on a cold winter's day. The wraiths walked on two feet, but they would hobble occasionally on three or four of their dark appendages. Where their head was located there was no mouth, instead it was located down where you would find their neck. The teeth would shimmer as a steady trickle of drool would run down randomly.

I looked up to Rude and in his eyes I saw great fear; he was going through exactly the same helplessness that I was.

Tseng had given up on contacting us; he probably figured we were in danger and needed immediate rescue. But suddenly, as if to prove my thoughts wrong, it sprung to life one last time, this time Elena's voice reached my ears, "We're coming guys, hang on!"

Now my hand reached instantly for the radio and I shouted back, "No, stay back! Go back to base and wait for us!" It was too late, just as I was saying that Elena and Tseng cleared the hill in the caravan. I hadn't been quick enough in telling them what was going on.

The wraiths cocked their heads toward the caravan, obviously sensing the Lifestream energy within, and began their attack in an almost surreal fashion. Their bodies stuck low to the ground as they crawled on all-fours with great speed.

Both Rude and I scattered for the caravan and I could just see Tseng trying to get it into reverse; he was having problems. "Hold them off! I won't be able to get us out of here in time!" He commanded, ducking his head under the dashboard to see what the problem was. Elena was yelling something into the caravan's phone; I couldn't hear what she was saying exactly.

I swallowed roughly, a lump forming in my throat, and I drew my usual weapon, the nightstick; Rude followed in a similar way.

The demonic creatures were getting even closer, so close I could almost see exactly where their head started and ended. One leapt directly for Rude's torso, swinging its right claw with the accuracy of a murderer.

This wasn't right, there weren't supposed to be this many wraiths. Where the hell had they all come from!

"Reno! Look out!" He gave a swift kick to the wraith before him.

Rude had warned me just in time, but I had to act fast. Ducking my head, I dodged the first blow, but the next time it swung it connected directly with my arm. I could feel the flesh tear against the sharp claws and a trickle of blood began to run downwards. My nightstick cracked directly into the wraith's skull, causing it to stumble backwards in a cry of rage.

"I've almost got it guys! Keep at it!"

Was I going to survive long enough for those words to have any importance? Any longer and both Rude and I would be dead.

Three more wraiths closed in on me. That was four…four.

"Reno…if I don't make it…give the boss a good punch for me when he tries to have you assassinated."

I was silent to Rude's words; it was more likely that I was going to die before he did.

Another wraith jumped at me, extending a claw towards my face, but I blocked it with the nightstick. My weapon battered against its back, bringing a heart-warming **CRACK** to my ears.

Five more joined the previous four…nine wraiths. But wait, six more were approaching too; that made fifteen? Fifteen! Rude had his own fair share of these creatures too. I could fight four of these things maybe but not fifteen at once.

The wraith that had been hit in the back with my nightstick was somehow staving off the pain of the broken bones and rejoined its brethren.

"There's way too many of these damn things, yo!"

"I know, and they won't stay down!" Rude shouted in quick reply. He was wrestling with a wraith that had somehow managed to knock him to the ground and was now trying to eat his face off. In a moment Rude had tossed the creature aside and was now trying to subdue it by repeatedly bashing it with his own nightstick. A bit of crimson spattered from the wound he was creating and painted Rude's face with dots of red…the wraith did move, but he was now more careful about getting closer to Rude.

"That taught the little demon who's the boss, yo!"

Rude grinned.

My mouth slowly went from smile to a look of shock as one of the wraiths cut him directly across the chest, appearing to go into him pretty deep. He collapsed to the ground and clutched at his chest like a man having a heart-attack.

I rushed over to Rude and swung my nightstick at the creature that had damaged him; it scampered backwards in defense. "Are you okay, yo? Hang on! We'll get you out of here, we'll get out of here…we'll get you…"

"Reno! What are you doing out there!" Tseng's voice reached my ears.

I wanted to give up, these creatures were invincible. Returning to my feet, I kicked at a wraith trying to close in. It reeled back and clutched at its face with clawed hands. Before I eased up, I shattered its skull, its arm, its nose-less face, and its back leg.

What was Tseng doing! He should've had the caravan started up by now!

The wraith moved itself behind the others, waiting for its wounds to stop hurting, and the others neared closer.

"Hang on for just a bit more!" It was too late, no matter what Tseng said now it was over.

As all of the wraiths jumped at me all at once, the annoying sound of a motorbike seemed to grow louder and louder ever second. That sound…it was…it was.

"Thank God! They're here!"

A shuriken flew by and turned in a circular motion, taking out a majority of the wraiths in one round. It landed steadily in the hands of the thrower, a familiar ninja friend of the Ex-Soldier. At her sides were two others: the AVALANCHE rebel with the gun-arm and the smoker with the spear…but there was no Ex-Soldier. What was that motorbike I had heard? It hadn't been in my mind…had it?

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I don't know how long it will take me to complete the next installment, but please take note that I won't always get another chapter finished in such a short amount of time. As always, please review, it's what keeps me going; even if you've already reviewed before.


	3. The Insanity of A Single Nightmare

The third chapter! Woooo! Celebrations aside, I want to warn you that I in no way plan to make this like the normal Final Fantasy content you'd come to expect. Cloud isn't going to come swoop in to save the day on his motorbike; Tifa isn't going to kick major butt with her fists of doom; Aerith won't show up in a dream; this is not Final Fantasy VII. This is Viewing Pleasure's: Cold, so just for a warning, I warn you not to expect the usual FFVIIideals...however that doesn't mean that Vincent might not drop in to saya few words of advice . Also, this doesn't mean that the previously mentioned characters won't show up, they will, I just haven't found a place for them yet.

Cless and I had a hard time communicating in the past week, so that's why you readers haven't been presented with this chapter sooner. Finally we were online at the same time and he transferred it to me, so here you are! Reno survived! Whooo! But will he keep it up? (>> so cliche'd)

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**The Insanity of A Single Nightmare**

Written by: Viewing Pleasure ; Edited by: Cless Alvein

"Barret! Take the bastards on the left! Cid! You get to take care of the ones on the right side! And lucky me…" I could see an overzealous grin appear on the ninja girl's face before she finished with great courage, "I get to party with the creatures in-between!"

"Come on, girlie, you don't expect me to settle with just the few measly kills on the right do you?"

"Call me girlie again and you'll join them."

They both laughed. This was something I had never seen before; the Ex-Soldier's friends had always shown themselves to be on the calm and collected side of things, to see them like this was almost jovial.

Unlike Rude and myself, the three friends seemed to move in coordination with each other; the creatures were overtaken before they could tell what was going on. I cheered our saviors silently in my mind; if they hadn't arrived when they did Shinra would have had to deal with four body-bags, and the problem of assembling a new group of Turks. Then I remembered, they'd only eliminated three of those body-bags, mine was still waiting for its turn to hold something decaying within its suffocating black exterior.

My thoughts returned back to my wounded partner on the ground, he was in no condition to battle anymore. Carefully lifting him with my arms, I carried him on my back as I turned towards the caravan. Five wraiths blocked my path, clawing threateningly at me with their hands.

The same weapon flew by again, easily taking out the creatures blocking the path, and it was followed by the familiar voice of the female Shinobi, "Hurry up! We better get a bonus on top of the pay Shinra promised us for saving your sorry butts!" I glanced at her momentarily, staring directly into her eyes, but I saw nothing; the friends of the Ex-Soldier hadn't changed, they were only pretending to be different if that was even possible. This wasn't true courage…

My feet started moving again and I soon arrived at the _safety _of the caravan; I took a moment to lay Rude down in the back seat. Sitting in the remaining seat beside Elena in the front of the vehicle, I noticed Tseng still messing around with the wires under the steering wheel. It was then my eyes noticed a wraith clear to charge the truck; Tseng would have to hurry up.

In my ear I could hear Elena's breathing, it was definitely erratic and faster than it should have been. For some reason this increased my own fear, and I too was soon breathing irregularly.

"Reno! Use this and help out our back-up!" Tseng tossed me a small pistol as he tried to continue his work on the steering wheel. How could something so simple take someone so long? Or was it just that time had slowed down and I was only imagining it?

I leaned out the window and tried to steady my aim, firing directly at the monster on a crash course for the caravan. It fell to its side, kicking violently into the air. Another wraith was on course for the Shinobi's unprotected back; it took me four bullets to take that one down. The pistol I held in my hands was only capable of arming seven bullets in all.

My help wouldn't last much longer and Tseng still hadn't fixed the truck yet.

"Come on you stupid…!" the man named Cid was trying to fend off a gang of the creatures which had decided to form a circle around him. I watched in horror as a claw went through his back and out his chest, sending a fountain of blood spewing from the open wound; after his body hit the ground it didn't appear to be moving any longer.

It was then I realized the fact that I had tried to help him by using the pistol, but it never fired; I had run out of ammo and hadn't even noticed. Tseng and Elena didn't see the guilt in my eyes, only I knew the pain I was feeling.

Then a nightmare came to life before my eyes. The Shinobi noticed her pal's demise and yelled with hysteria, "Cid, don't die on me! Barret, we have to help…!" But it was too late. Barret, the gruff man with the gun-arm, was already dead upon the ground; I hadn't even seen him go down. "No! Dear God…Cloud…Tifa…**_anyone!_**" For one last time, my eyes met hers and hers met mine; her body then lay huddled on the ground, the heart of the ninja girl was no longer beating.

"They're dead, yo!"

"We know Re…"

"They're dead and I couldn't save them!"

"Come on, Tseng, get this thing started already!" Elena's mood was no better than mine.

"I'm trying! If you think it's so easy, why don't you try it!"

No one moved to interrupt his work.

I pulled my legs up to my head and rocked back and forth, my mind trying and failing to cover up the wretched thoughts. How could three of the Ex-Soldier's friends go down so easily! They were supposed to be invincible! They faced **_Sephiroth_**; this should've been cake to them! And yet they were dead, dead as a rock; I clenched my eyes shut at the cruel metaphor.

Rude was now grabbing at his chest, a visible layer of sweat forming on his brow. He would soon end up just like our backup, as much as I hated the thought.

The creatures could've been moving in on us, but I was too busy freaking out to care. Images of the mutilated bodies crept up on me, causing even more fear to erupt within me.

Finally the sound of the motor met my ears. Tseng slammed his foot down on the gas pedal after putting the caravan into reverse.

I removed myself from my less than dignified position and stared directly at the carpeting of the truck we were escaping in. Ever so slowly I was also escaping the nightmare, but I could never really get rid of it. Nightmares met me around every corner. The crater, the bodies, my own death…

"Reno?"

There was no sign that I heard the voice at all; it was either Tseng or Elena, I didn't really care.

"Leave him alone, Elena, he's just been through a lot; we've all been through a lot."

So it had been Elena who had called my name.

The pistol that Tseng had given me, now completely useless, was still caught in my tight grip; I said my first words since the accident of only a few moments ago. "_I let them die, yo…_"

"What?" It was Tseng; I hadn't realized how weak my voice sounded.

"**I let them die!**" My words had gone from really quiet to extremely loud in mere seconds.

"Settle down, Reno, you did all you could!"

"No, Tseng, no I didn't…I should've been out there helping them instead of hiding behind this…this…!" I indicated the wretched pistol before tossing it at the carpeting which had captured my thoughts during part of the ride back to Shinra Inc, "This piece of junk! I was weak back there and I'm afraid…" No, I was lying through my teeth; I was scared of the wraiths more than anything else.

"We can't tell anyone about what happened; do you understand?"

My lips didn't move.

"I said **_do you understand!_**" Tseng's voice was probably harsher than he had meant it to be.

"I heard you, yo." My eyes returned back to the flooring which was now joined by the gun; if the pistol had eyes, it would've been probably been staring right back at me as if to question why I was blaming the problem on it.

Again I turned to check on Rude; his breathing was slowing down greatly. Today he had fixed his sleeves three times, would I ever get to see him do it again, or would his sleeves lay forever alone upon his death?

The next set of events was almost dreamlike. We arrived back at Shinra Inc. to see a group of medics waiting to take Rude away. I watched as my aching feet left the vehicle, it was as if they were moving on their own. A few people were asking Elena and Tseng questions; I opted for the opposite direction.

No one stared or questioned me about anything as I entered the building. They all went a long with their business as if nothing strange had occurred at all. It made me so furious inside that I felt as if I would lose my mind, if anything was left of it to lose that is. Desk workers were typing away on their keyboards, writing up memos and other nonsense for their bosses; a few executives were talking it up at the water cooler, laughing occasionally at jokes told by one another; and then, the worst of all, was Rufus' mocking smile as I approached.

"So, how went the mission?"

I stared with a vacant expression upon my face. He was about to reiterate, but I replied, sarcasm interweaving into my words, "How do you think it went, yo! Rude is nearly dead, there are millions of those God forsaken things out there, and the three friends of the Ex-Soldier are…!" It took everything I had to stop myself from finishing my sentence.

"They're what, Reno?"

"Nothing, next time you want something like that done do it yourself!" I stomped past him with my fists clenched tightly and entered the elevator. The way I hit the 'up' button nearly caused it to break under the extreme pressure.

A headache was slowly forming around my temples; another painful problem to add to my list.

There was only one place where I could be alone and try to return to some state of normalcy if it was even within my grasp anymore.

Elena and Tseng were still answering questions to the citizens of Midgar about the mission, making sure to leave out anything that could cause panic of any sort.

**_Stop lying to yourself…_**

Rufus was still smiling as I walked towards him in the hallway.

**_You can't go on trying to fool your memory…_**

The three friends of the Ex-Soldier were still alive.

_**No they aren't, and you're an idiot for thinking so. Accept it! They're dead, you killed them!**_

I nearly broke-down right there in the elevator, but I held it together until I reached the meeting room. This was my place of solitude…

The nagging conscience kept reminding me, telling me, demanding to me that I was wrong.It wanted me to be wrong about it all.

I hadn't killed the friends of the Ex-Soldier; the wraiths were the ones who had accomplished that task.

**_They wouldn't have died if you have been out there on the battlefield!_**

The headache grew with intensity and began to flow into more tender regions in my skull. Why couldn't I just let it go? Maybe they would've lived if I had been out there to help them, but how could I know that for sure? They might've died with me out there anyway.

**_A lie, no matter the size, will never make the guilt go away…_**

My conscience, or to be more precise my own self under extreme shame, was right. No matter what I might think I would never feel at peace.

I closed my eyes hoping to retreat into a peaceful sleep, but I was haunted with the cavern once again. Now, however, the creature that would usually reach out to me was now carving numbers into the bodies with extreme resemblance to the three friends of the Ex-Soldier. One, two, three…what could they possibly mean? The strange being then turned to face me, a frown visible upon its face, and I awoke in a cold sweat.

There was a note lying beside my arm on the table; someone had recently been in the room. What could it possibly say to make all my problems go away?

_Rude is fine; he woke up just a few minutes ago._

_--Elena_

I desperately wanted to smile, wanted to be happy for my partner, but I just couldn't. My happiness was gone…and in its place now resided haunting memories. The three deaths I had witnessed played back slowly like a videotape in my mind. Barret, Cid, and…Christ I didn't even know her name! Guilt of their deaths returned; the invincible had become the fragile.

My feet shuffled by themselves for the doorway; I'd never felt so alone before.

* * *

This chapter was a little shorter than I had planned, but it was certainly crammed full of content which I hope you all enjoyed. Hopefully when I finish the next chapter Cless and I will be able to get it edited for you sooner next time. If anything is confusing, please feel free to ask me either via E-mail or a review; I'm always glad to answer questions. Please review even if you've already reviewed before.


	4. What's The Cure For This Valentine?

Ah, yes I know, I haven't added a new chapter in a long time, but blame it on contact troubles. First I couldn't get a hold of Cless so this chapter was not edited by him, so I had to find a new editor (I think she'll only be temporary, don't want to bug her too much). Kiara is the one who edited this chapter and much thanks goes out to her; she did a very wonderful job I think.

Also, Happy Holidays, you can think of this as your late/early holiday gift.

I would like to also thank my reviewers so far, I like to get feedback **_a lot_**.

rufustehshinra >>> I hope I keep up with this "something" that's got you hooked

Santuary of Darkness >>> The reason I don't portray Reno as a drunken/smartass/womanizer is because he doesn't seem that way to me. Okay, yes, he is a smartass occasionally, but that shouldn't overshadow everything else in my opinion. Bleh, the stereotype of males is already bad enough (me being one of them), I don't need to add to it fictionally.

* * *

**What's The Cure For This Valentine Of Mine?**

Written by: Viewing Pleasure; Edited by: Kiara

The hallways of Shinra Incorporated, so dull and unwelcoming, my hand flowed with ease across the depressingly grey walls as I walked along in my torment. My appendages felt ghostly and foreign; I'd never imagined it was possible to be so numb.

A grimace set in stone on my face, I stared blankly at the face of Tseng when I exited the meeting room; his own body language told the very same story. "Reno, did you get the—?"

"You mean the little note Elena left me? Yeah, I got it, yo." My feet shuffled uncomfortably with regret. Events today were making me sad as hell; I couldn't turn a corner without feeling an emotion such as regret.

"You didn't tell the Boss about what happened did you?"

My eyes glared with a fiery intensity at him. "**_What_** did you just say!"

"There's no reason to raise your voice at me. I just—!"

"I'm **_sick_** and **_tired_** of dealing with your stupidity! Always trying to cover your own ass! If something goes wrong you cover it up and put on the most innocent facade you can dream up!" My words scared me because I meant every bit of it.

He stared to the ground.

"If I wasn't so sure you'd rat me out to Rufus, I'd beat you up for asking me such a ridiculous question!"

"Are you done?" It wasn't meant to be insulting to me in any way; Tseng was just as uncomfortable as I was about the recent occurrences.

"**_No!_** I'm not done! With all the tribulations going on you act as if you're the only one who matters! Well guess what, you're not the only one with problems! Three people died today and I figure it was my entire fault!"

"Are you done, _now_?"

"Yeah, but only because I need to visit Rude…I'll finish with you later, yo." As I turned to leave, I shot one last glance in his direction; Tseng was motionless in the hallway before he suddenly turned towards the elevator. Its cold metal doors closed behind him, and the all too familiar "**_Bing!_**" called out to me. I winced at the memories it brought me.

Refocusing my attentions on Rude was a last ditch effort to hold the pieces of my sanity together. I was yelling at people left and right, first Rufus and then Tseng. Who next? It could be Elena, Pree, or even Rude of all people.

Irony settled into the dull throbbing pain of the headache in my skull, "Are you keeping the burned pilot company, yo?" The poor pilot that had exploded a fuel tank by lighting a cigarette too close for his own good; I'd laughed at him out of arrogance, I guess Rude's pain was payback for my cruelness.

The emergency center was now in sight, its white scenery standing imposingly around the bleak wallpaper filling the hallways.

"Sir, you can't go in there! Sir—!" A nursing student stood before me with her arms extended trying to stop me from going further as I tried to enter one of the rooms. A love-bite, also known as a hickey, was plain to see on her neck; out the corner of my eye I could see a flustered office worker hiding from my view. I didn't make a big deal about it for a few moments, but then a cruel part of me kicked in.

"I bet the Boss would find it real interesting…yo." I put some well-placed emphasis on the 'yo'.

"Find _what_ interesting?" Fear shot through her senses in a brief fashion, I only had to keep her mind going so it could imagine the worst possible scenario. A hand went up to try and conceal the less-than-flattering mark on her neck.

"A little nurse gal is attempting to do her work," if by any chance my inferences were correct, it was by pure coincidence, "when a desperate man from one of the offices on the third floor arrives to get a little paperwork. His wife has been giving him troubles at home, and he's been a little…frustrated lately. Surely no one would mind if he just messed around a bit with the cute nurse, but I bet the Boss would find it real interesting." I turned to her desk and snatched a picture of the nurse and her husband posing for a picture; it was all made to seem as if it wouldn't bother me in the least to make her entire world come crashing down.

"But—but, sir! If I let you in there I'll lose my job!"

"It's your choice…either you lose your job and I mind my own business, or you could lose your job, your husband, and your happiness." Why was I being so manipulative?

She seemed troubled, almost as if she was having real conflict inside.

Without receiving her blessing, I passed by her and forced my way directly into the only occupied medical room. The scent of medicines and old blood reached my nose, sending a flare of sickness through my abdomen. I called out weakly, "Rude?"

There was no answer.

I tried to coax a reply even further, "Rude, are you there?"

The room was dark and gloomy, but even my eyes could see a figure shifting about at the sound of my voice.

"The nurse wouldn't let me in, yo. I had to force it on her."

"You shouldn't have come, Reno."

"Why not?" I wasn't expecting an uplifting explanation.

"You should be working; I'm fine."

"But Elena left me a note and all, so I figured I'd—" Why was he being so difficult?

"You shouldn't **_be_** here."

I repeated myself again, "Why _not_!"

"Because…"

There was barely any time for thought amongst our rising voices.

"Because what!"

"I can't tell you…"

"Tell me!"

"I can't!"

"Tell me why!"

"You wouldn't understand!"

"**_Try me!_**"

"**_I don't feel like it!_**"

There was finally a moment of silence before I started up once again, this time with a little more compassion in my voice, "We're partners, Rude. What happened to us? We used to tell each other everything; we could joke about the dumbest things, so why now of all times do we keep secrets?"

Rude laid silent, so silent I figured he'd passed out or something. His voice reached my ears soon enough; it was soaked with bitterness and sorrow, "The wraiths, their claws do something to the body. Rufus sent a few specialists in to examine me upon my arrival…they say that something is changing inside of me. They also told me that there isn't a damn thing they can do to save me with their current knowledge."

"Like what; the changing I mean?" I leaned forward; my fists were clenched tightly in anticipation, I could feel a thin layer of moisture forming on my palms.

"They say they don't how long it will take, but eventually I will become a wraith myself."

The very same nurse who I had blackmailed only moments ago nudged her head through the doorway just as I was about to ask Rude a very important question, "Sir…I understand that you won't like it, but there's something I need to discuss with you in private. Besides, this man needs his rest. If you'd please—" She motioned me over with her hand, well-manicured fingernails adorning the otherwise boring appendage; it only caught my attention when they shined a strange bright light from the outside right into my eyes. I winced.

"Sir, if you'd—"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you, yo!" I followed her against my will. Rude's dark form once again laid motionless on the stiff hospital beds. My foot tapped the edge of a bed-post on my way out, sending a shriek of surprise from the patient sleeping on it; my stay in the dark room caused my pupils to dilate, and by now they were able to see nearly everything in the blackness. The patient was none other than the scorched pilot; I quickly fled the room upon seeing his horribly disfigured face, his suffering was worse than I had first thought.

So Rude was turning into one of those wraiths? What did Shinra plan to do about it? They wouldn't do anything at all as usual; they probably had a cover-up already planned for his sudden disappearance the day he actually turned into one of those things.

The nurse seemed nervous facing me, not that I blamed her, "Mr. Reno, President Rufus has requested that I send you down to the parking garage; he didn't tell me what it was about."

I started to walk away, "Don't worry, I won't snitch on you or that man you're cheating on your husband with."

A sigh of relief was heard, and then nothing at all after I rounded the corner.

Rufus had something very important to tell me, there was going to be nothing casual about this meeting in any way. Perhaps it was about the slip-up I'd made to him upon entering the building; I had mentioned the Ex-Soldier's friends, just not what had happened to them.

I entered the very same elevator Tseng had used what seemed like hours ago to me; the time in the gloomy confines of the hospital room had felt longer than it actually was. One of my hands reached out and pressed the button labeled PG for parking garage. Well the button **_was _**supposed to say PG, but part of the letters had been scratched off with something and now all that you could see was FC; such pointless vandalism was most likely brought upon by the life of a bored worker.

A chill swept over me when the elevator reached the designated floor, it was getting colder outside every day; the temperature must've dropped at least ten to twenty degrees in the past week. It was almost as if I was back at the crater yet again.

Not too far through the garage were Rufus and a person with their back turned to me; something was familiar about their hair, their flowing red cape, and their side-arm. "Ah, Reno, just the man I wanted to see. I believe you and Valentine know each other?"

"What's **_he _**doing here, yo?" I'd despised Vincent ever since he'd left the Turks. It was strange really, my personality I mean; I had gone from depression to venomous hate in mere seconds.

"I brought him here so he could inform the Ex-Soldier of the unfortunate accident the back-up had."

"You know about—"

"Of course I do! Tseng blabbed the entire story to the Rescue Squad, and as per usual they forwarded the issue to me."

"Boss, I'm not proud of what happened, but please don't throw too much of a fuss about this please."

"Request fulfilled, in fact, I hadn't planned on worrying about this at all; things happen in our line of work, and everyone has to be aware of the consequences to their actions."

"Yes, Boss, but why did you bring him here instead of one of the others? What makes him so special, yo?" I prodded a finger in the traitor's direction.

The voice of the red-caped visitor was as cold and lifeless as always, "Because, I'm also here on personal business."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?"

Rufus glanced to Vincent and then to me. "I can see you two need some time to talk, I'll just make sure the comatose bodies of the Ex-Soldier's friends get sent to critical care immediately."

"Wait, what!"

"You can see for yourself after you finish with your chat." The Boss headed off in the direction of the elevator, leaving me alone with the man who I hated with my every being.

"Reno…Cloud has disappeared."

"What does that have anything to do with me? He can take care of his own ass for once." I cared for the spiky-haired Ex-soldier, but he only showed up to help when it was convenient for himself.

"You misunderstand, I'm not here to ask you to find him; I'm here to offer you the opportunity to save the lives of the ones your crew put in danger…and to do something for me on the side."

"And what does the Ex-Soldier have anything to do with that?"

"Cloud left sometime last night, so there's no way I can contact him about Yuffie, Barret, and Cid."

Yuffie, so that was the name of the young Shinobi.

"Since he won't know what has happened, he won't know to look for an antidote for their coma; however, you are in the best position and most eligible for finding the medicine they need."

"Oh yeah, and where exactly can I find this remedy you speak of?"

"The crater…"

My eyes widened in fear, and I stared at the traitor as if he was insane. It was one thing to think about the crater, but going back there was another thing entirely; my mouth grew dry as the unbearable images tainted my otherwise sane mind. "I can't, yo, that place will be the death of me."

"We all have bad memories of that place."

"Not like me, yo."

"How so?" His eyes showed no sign of false interest.

"That **_thing_**, Jenova, or whatever it was…it was inhuman. Then Sephiroth…and then those spawn of the hellish being. The darkness was constantly impairing my vision, making it near impossible for my natural instincts to work properly; it felt as if something would jump out at me at any moment and end my life. I've always been afraid of the dark, yo. It's not a flattering fact, but it's true."

"If that's all that scares you then you really can't compete."

"I wasn't finished."

He became silent again and listened for me to continue.

"Tseng and Elena…so much had happened. They were attacked by those spirits: Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. Those things moved so fluidly through the darkness that I lost all ability to react; I was afraid that if I took a single step they'd kill me," I began to stare at the ground as if compelled to do so, "Tseng ordered me to retreat, but I'm still not sure I did the right thing. I could still see the faces of Elena and Tseng as I started to ascend out of the crater; the accusing faces of those that think they'll soon be nothing and have nothing more than another cover-up story when the press comes knocking on the Big Man's door. Do you know what that's like, to know that you had the chance to do something but chose not to out of pure terror?" My hand rested casually in my pocket, eyes staring at Vincent with great intensity.

"No."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"It's what you wanted to hear, isn't it?" Was he mocking me? "In any case, I can see you won't be willing to help. The mighty Turks have obviously fallen."

"How can you say something like that when one of them is standing right in front of you, yo?"

"Believe what you wish—it's time for me to leave."

Curiosity got the better of me, "Just for reference, what's the name of the medicine your friends need?"

"Why? You want to help now?"

I made no reply.

"Existus…it comes in the form of a white flower; it is known as "White Beast" in certain regions, prominently in towns around the crater itself. They can tell you why it is dubbed the way it is if you decide to check this out for yourself. And if you go, I wouldn't mind if you looked for an amulet very dear to me; it should be in the area just before the one where the battle with Sephiroth occurred. I must be going now…I'm sure Tifa and the last remaining few of the group would want to know what has happened."

Thought it pained me to do so, I managed to say with a halfway decent smile, "Take care."

Almost as if he'd practiced this scenario, his eyes looked into my very soul before he replied, "You too, Reno." His red cape fluttered behind him as he exited the building through the parking garage, the echoing trail of his departure lingered for a few moments after he was gone.

"The traitor does come in handy I have to admit." Even though I knew that mumbling to one's self wasn't very healthy, I happened to do it from time to time, and this was just one of those occasions.

My guilt had been lifted considerably; Cid, Yuffie, and Barret weren't dead if what Rufus had said was to be believed. A sense of satisfaction coursed through me. With luck on my side, I was ready to take on the world; that is until I remembered the little matter of finding an antidote. The guilt returned, weighing even heavier upon me than before. Not only had I rejoiced for the loss of my own mistake, but in doing so I'd opened myself up to even more self-pity.

The elevator opened up as if expecting me when I grew closer, two Shinra Soldiers were aiming their rifles directly at me from inside the cozy little convenience.

"Get in!" It was a gruff voice, but one I was very familiar with; James Peterson. His tone left no room for argument. I carefully approached them, making sure my hands were in clear view, and entered the elevator with nothing but worry to my name.

The other Soldier was eyeing his rifle, trying to see if any of its gleaming design was scratched or tarnished in any way. This was Dustin Krummweide; a man who was a proud collector of guns, but not just any guns, there were rare guns, quick-shot guns, harmless guns, and even peculiar guns in his collection. Nearly every week he'd have another one with a story to go along with it; all of his guns were supposed to have been used by legendary people at one point or another, it was up to you if you believed him or not.

I'd been very sociable with these two many times during my stay at Shinra Inc. What were their orders?

"Hey, how's that girlfriend of yours doing? Are you two still together, Jimmy?"

"…"

"Dustin, I've got a friend who knows where to find that firearm you've been obsessed with, yo."

"Are you serious!" That had gotten him off his guard, much to my own satisfaction.

"Not **_now_** Krummweide…"

Dustin tried to ignore the subject of the gun, but I could tell it was really bugging him inside.

"What's the problem, Jimmy? You've never minded an informal conversation before." He didn't turn to face me even as I spoke.

"Sir, I'm not allowed to discuss with you our escort job."

"Where are you escorting me, yo?"

James didn't continue any further.

Fidgeting anxiously, I was edgy for the moment we reached the level they were forcing me towards. Was today my day? For my mistakes in the field would they assassinate me?

The doors opened as we slowed to a stop, and at the end of the hallway before me were many more Shinra Soldiers, some of which I knew personally just like James and Dustin.

With the butt of his rifle, Jimmy shoved me out the door; friendships died easily at Shinra Inc. We were moving at a pace I didn't quite like. My mouth was even drier than before; it seemed to me that even cotton wasn't this dry. There was a drinking fountain coming up on my right; a plan formed quickly in my mind.

"Jimmy…"

"Yes, what is it?" He was eager to get this finished with; maybe my strategy wouldn't work.

I was eyeing the water fountain; it would be my salvation if everything worked out as I hoped it would.

"Reno?" Dustin piped up as he stared at me with curiosity.

"Quiet!" It appeared that Jimmy didn't like to have me talked to at the moment in such a laid-back fashion.

"Boy, my mouth is dry; I sure wouldn't mind a drink of water." My eyes hinted at the water fountain directly beside me.

He was reluctant about it, but in a hurried tone he agreed, "Alright, but hurry up! I'm already getting too much over-time because of you!"

I leaned forward and sipped from the fountain; with a careful glance I made sure Jimmy and Dustin weren't watching. It was time for me to become an actor; stages beware of Reno, man of impeccable talents. A very realistic choke ensued from my mouth, causing my escorts to look at me with panic. When James came forward to empty my lungs of the imaginary blockage that only existed within his mind, I cuffed him right in the groin with my fist; he fell down with his hands reaching in pain for the aching appendage.

I moved forward to take out Dustin and slammed his head directly into the water fountain.

As they both tumbled on the ground, I mumbled, "No hard feelings, eh, boys?" Their muffled groaning was the only reply.

The guards that had been waiting for me at the end of the hallway were now rushing towards me with purpose; I made my escape to the elevator before they could catch me. The doors closed, securing me inside; I felt so safe that only the fear of being caught by the Soldiers kept me moving. The elevator dropped at a steady speed on its way to the Parking Garage. It was obvious someone would be looking for me there; I pressed the button for the basement just as the elevator slowed to a stop in the Parking Garage. A few Soldiers saw me, but had no chance to snatch me as the elevator started downward again immediately…they **_had_** been waiting for me.

From the basement there were only two ways I could escape from Shinra Inc. with my life intact; I was liable to choose the ventilation ducts, but then again I was also prone to choosing the Emergency Elevator. Oh what to do?

* * *

Alright, another chapter read and done with, and I've already got the next one in the works. If you're all good little boys and girls (men and women) maybe I'll get it out before New Years...hmm...I hope I didn't just promise the death of my Christmas break. Oh well, please review, criticism/compliments always help. 


	5. Withdrawal From Sanctuary

Well I hit the deadline pretty close. Luckily I got to Cless quickly this time, so he is the editor once again. In case of confusion, this starts immediately after the last chapter. I have nothing else I feel that is important to add, so Happy New Year! Read on...

* * *

**Withdrawal From Sanctuary**

Written by: Viewing Pleasure ; Edited by: Cless Alvein

Rufus, why was he condemning me to my death so soon, especially after he offered me the opportunity of seeing the comatose bodies of our saviors? Was it possible that this command had come from somewhere higher up?

"Hurry up! I think I heard the elevator over in this direction!" The persistent fools were already on my tail.

My eyes fell on the nearby ventilation shaft, and I hastily got to work by grabbing a nearby wrench and beating the grate in. Just as the guards rounded the corner I dove headfirst into the opening.

"We can't let him get away! Quickly, quickly! Get to the Engineering Control Center!"

Hand over hand I crawled through the vents, getting increasingly closer to my escape every moment. A rat a few feet in front of me scattered at the sound of my approach, a small piece of meat enclosed safely between its teeth; a rat, a rat, was I the same as the lowly rodent?

Through a grating below me I could hear a great many voices conversing, "But, sir, I'm not allowed to—"

"Just do it!" It was Jimmy's voice; after everything I'd done for the creep he was trying to bring me to my death. I glared with enmity at the back of his head when he went running past down below.

Suddenly the ventilation shaft grew unbearably hot and my palms felt like at any moment that the meat upon them would simply fall off. The bastards were trying to roast me! Soon enough I'd be nothing more than ashes.

"Give it up, Reno! It doesn't have to end this way." It was Jimmy yet again.

"Yeah, it'd be better ended with a bullet to his head." A Soldier replied with a chuckle escaping his lips.

I edged forward in the vent.

"Hey, Jimmy, why are we chasing him anyway?"

"Outside sources, I wasn't told anymore than that."

"Do you think it has anything to do with the appearance of those creatures?"

Oh, the sickening heat! I wished they would make it stop!

"Well—" suddenly Jimmy stopped speaking and seemed to be listening to something, "—Turn the heat back down, Rufus is calling us to his office."

For some odd reason the Soldiers checked their weapons to make sure the safety was off and headed out towards the elevator.

My head clanged against the metal just as the engineer adjusted the heat; I clung to my consciousness as the welcome and refreshing cool air blew over me. The vent around me, however, was still searing hot, making my range of motion very constricted. I began moving ever so slowly.

"—The papers say they're just normal beasts like we've always had." A brown haired man was looking for a tool of some sort. He cracked his head on the headlight of the caravan, obscenities ensued.

"But don't you think that's a little, well, too easy to say for sure? Do they have any proof?" Beside the man with brown hair was a bald man; his blue uniform was smothered with grease and sweat. The way he talked gave me the impression that he was a very annoying individual.

"Of course not, you idiot! All they care about is holding the real truth from the good, working citizens like us!" The two mechanics were fumbling about, trying to bring the caravan from today's mission back to an adequate condition; the thing was already falling apart piece by piece, I don't see why they bothered.

"We better get back to work, wouldn't want Rufus' lapdog to find us goofing off."

"You got that right; one time I was trying to make a date with that cute girl from engineering, and he made me work overtime that whole night without pay."

"You mean Cindy?" What was the bald man talking about?

"What?" Even the brown haired fellow was a bit confused.

"The girl you were talking to! Cindy right?"

"See, that's your problem, you stray away from the topic too much. Let's just get this thing finished."

"Just tell me, was it Cindy?"

"Yes, for God's sake, now stop talking!"

I snickered for a moment before pulling myself through the vent; it seemed to be tightening in on me. Just ahead was a little opening.

…

No footsteps or voices, I dropped down through the hole and hid behind a few boxes nearby. It seemed they were being shipped to…I couldn't read the name; it was too faded.

"Hey, Mac! Where are these things headed to?" The voice was heading in my direction.

"Oh! Rufus says they're headed to Icicle Inn!"

"Icicle Inn? Why there?" The worker was beginning to lift the crate nearest to my head.

"Don't know! But it's supposed to be **_very_** important!"

"Alright!" As he picked up the crate completely, I backed myself into a corner to avoid his sight.

Icicle Inn, that was a place very close to the crater. With a careful step, I followed behind the buff man carrying the crates. I took the chance to slip inside the truck when he looked away to wave at a fellow co-worker.

In a few moments, I heard his voice shout, "That's all of them, Mac! Get a move on!"

The engine revved before the truck took off.

I cursed myself for having boarded the vehicle; Rude and the others were now alone to face the wrath of the Soldiers. Hopefully my friends would be safe, but judging by the strange actions of my pursuers I couldn't be sure.

Upon resting my head on a crate, I began to doze off; my eyes were heavy and begged for sleep. Even my hands asked for some rest, they were aching and I could already feel the blisters.

"Pree—I'm sorry I couldn't have that cup of coffee with you. I won't be able to keep my promise for a long time—" The truck had been driving for quite some time now.

Suddenly, the vehicle came to a screeching halt, and it seemed to veer sideways as if the truck was about ready to flip end over end. I jumped to my feet and rushed over to open up the back. It gave way as I pushed upward against it with all my strength.

Just as I had suspected, the truck was just about ready to go tumbling. I leapt from the back, making a very hard landing on my chest; my ribs crushed in on my lungs momentarily, causing the life-supporting oxygen to escape through my lips. When I got to my feet, and I could breathe again, I looked around to see what caused the vehicle to act as it did; a car was now safely off to the side of the road, a couple men in black suits emerging from the doors. If I wasn't one already I would've suspected them to be Turks; four people in all exited the car.

"How annoying, wasn't this guy supposed to be assassinated earlier today?" Dreadlocks covered his head; his eyes were shaded by dark sunglasses, forbidding me from seeing anything but his skin.

"Yes, but apparently Rufus' Soldiers aren't quite apt enough for something like this." This one, a female by the sound of her voice, was busy punching something into a small rectangular device in a concise fashion. She flipped a few blonde locks away from her eyes and went right back to the gadget in her hands.

"Let's kill him—" A larger man than the other three, his voice sounded similar to a drum's deafening boom. His hair was sickeningly off-white; it stuck out like a sore thumb on the giant.

The last of four wasn't paying very much attention to what the others were doing, his eyes were focused on a flock of birds flying past threw the sky; as they dove and lost altitude, he followed them without missing a beat. "We're not to kill him, boss's orders."

"Shoot. I figured I was going to get to murder someone today." I didn't like the giant very much at this time.

"Who are you all and what are you doing here, yo?" A chill swept down my spine as they fully turned their attention to me.

"Mercenaries, I suppose, but you needn't worry yourself with that." The girl was still hitting away at those buttons on that piece of equipment firmly grasped between her palms.

"You've got to be kidding me, only two of you look like they could last ten minutes in a fight."

"I'm more of the medic, so don't mind me. It's just Verdugo and Fum you have to worry about."

"'Fum'?" Who was she referring to exactly?

"You know, 'Fee Fye Fo **_Fum_**'?"

My eyes wandered to the giant. Enthusiasm disappeared from my bones as the relevance dawned on me. "I see, yo…" Verdugo appeared to be the man with dreadlocks; funny, he didn't look Spanish as his name suggested.

"Verdugo is called so because of his nickname from the people of the desert, El Verdugo Deprimente, which basically translates into The Dismal Executioner." The girl was a mind-reader to have known my curiosity in his name.

"Alright, yo, why are you so intent on killing me? I know none of you are with Shinra, and I know for damn sure you aren't with Soldier."

The man who had been paying great attention to the birds in the sky looked at me with a smile despite the words coming from his mouth, "Your life's price has been paid, in full I might add—"

"—And you'll never find out who our employer is, so you might as well give up."

I glared towards the giant who had somehow finished his comrade's statement. "I knew this was all too easy…" My heart was pounding so fast that I thought it would explode at any moment, the fear was too great and the tension was rising.

"Prepare yourself!" the giant shouted with determination as both he and Verdugo drew the weapons meant to slaughter me. The blade Verdugo had was fairly long and would've made the Ex-Soldier's buster sword pale in comparison; it was covered with a dry layer of blood regardless of how well taken care of it appeared. Fum, however, didn't carry a sword; in his hands he wielded a large axe. The carnage visible on it was even worse than the blade I described only moments ago.

I drew the nightstick from my side; the fight wouldn't be an easy one. "Alright, let's get this massacre over with, yo."

Verdugo rushed towards me, his blade held out far in front of him clasped between both his hands, and when he got close enough he swung with enough strength to sever my head completely. I dodged to get out of the way, but in doing so I opened myself up to Fum's own attack. His beastly looking axe created a gash in my leg so long that the pain was tremendous. "B-bastard!" I staggered backwards, struggling to keep my body standing upright.

"Your blood, it calls to me! It shall not call in vain!" The giant swung again, nearly lobbing off my right arm. As he missed, my nightstick cracked against his skull, but this bothered Fum only slightly; he picked me up by my feet and threw me into the overturned truck still lying in the street.

Rushing to my feet, I awaited their next assault. "So, as merely a curiosity, how much am I worth?"

"Five million Gil, you should feel proud." A grin emerged on the medic's face.

"Five million, are you serious? Wow, I can see why you're all so eager to kill me, yo." A smile of my own complemented hers.

"At least you don't lose your sense of humor in the face of death!" Fum rushed at me with that gigantic axe of his; fear swept through me each time I laid my eyes on it.

I rolled out the way, brushing off a bit of dirt from my shoulder, "Nah, I'd know death if I saw it, and you're not death. I've fought things twice as tough as the both of you, yo!"

"Like what!" Verdugo spit in my direction, failing in his attempt to hit me with it.

"Ever heard of Cloud Strife? Compared to him, you two are nothing but a nuisance."

"Cloud Strife…fastidio condenado!" Again, Verdugo didn't appear Spanish in any way, yet he spoke it fluently.

"Excuse me?"

"He's a damned nuisance." The blonde medic was one hell of a translator.

"And that would be the only part where I agree with you, yo, but he does come in handy every once and awhile."

Both Fum and Verdugo stood their ground for a moment as if strategizing their moves to come.

"Why does someone want me dead?"

"All we know is that someone wants you and your friends out of the way." The strange fellow with red hair whom had been watching the birds suddenly put his two hands together and started chanting some sort of mantra, a spell perhaps.

In the next instant, a strange heat consumed my body and burned my already blistered hands. The spontaneous fire disappeared only moments afterwards, but the pain continued for much longer. "A skilled magic caster, I haven't seen one of those since—"

"Since…?" the red haired mage urged me to continue.

"Her name isn't important to you lowlifes! Let's get this over with, yo!" My feet pushed me forward as I raised the nightstick behind my head in preparation to swing it. Fum, the eerie giant, grabbed my arm in mid-swing and tossed me aside as if I were a doll; the mage had a good bodyguard that was for sure.

The medic seemed to be even more intent with the object in her hands, as her eyes stared questioningly at it.

"Something the matter, yo, you seem worried?" the false kindness was merely my way of mocking the enemy.

She glared at me with a set of fiery eyes, "I hope you find it funny that your friend Cloud Strife has destroyed my family!"

Her three companions dropped their guards immediately and turned to face their friend.

"¡Fastidio condenado!" the words reached my ears for the second time and they ironically came from the very same lips.

The Ex-Soldier had slaughtered her family, why?

"We should head back—"

"No! We have to finish the job!" The medic shouted at the mage with tears streaming from her eyes; a reddish complexion was already forming around her sockets.

I hung my head with guilt; strange considering their problems had nothing to do with my own. "Your friend is right you should go home, yo."

Her eyes shot back towards me, but before she could protest I finished, "You can always find me again later, and when that time comes I won't resist a fight. Family is family, no job should ever change that; they're what gave you life, which should be worth something more than money."

The group of four stared at me with what seemed like respect before entering their car. An engine roared and they drove off…then nothing more. I clutched my arms as wind as cold as ice brushed up against me. "If I get a cold from this someone's going to pay, yo."

Another gust of wind pushed me onward.

………………………………………………………………………

"Reno, where in the **_hell_** are you, you should be here by now?" I took one last puff of my cigarette before rubbing it out. A couple of Soldiers flew past my office in a fit of panic. "What are they up to?"

"President Rufus, there's someone here to speak with you; should I send them in?" The soothing voice of my receptionist was like music to my ears.

"Yes, Mary, send them in. Oh, and make sure that bodies of Ms. Yuffie, Mr. Barret, and Mr. Cid get sent to critical care posthaste."

"Yes sir."

Moments later the door opened; my eyes fell with disbelief on the person entering my office.

"Yes, President Rufus—I bet you quite enjoy that title." The figure moved closer to my desk, grabbing a file into his grasp.

"What are you doing here! You're supposed to be dead!"

"You thought old Hojo was gone for good, now didn't you?"

"Who is it that is trying to fool—?"

"Fool! You're the only **_fool_** here! My science is too strong to be kept concealed by the Lifestream!"

I pressed the intercom button on my desk, fear erupting from my voice, "Mary, get security in here now!"

"What's the matter, President Rufus, afraid of death?" Hojo laughed and pulled out a handgun, effectively destroying the intercom on my desk.

"This can't be happening…"

"Oh, but it is! And when you look for someone to blame look in the mirror! You've had a hand in killing Sephiroth twice now!"

"But it was the Ex-Soldier who—!"

"No, President Rufus, he wouldn't have been able to do a thing without your assistance! Where he's going next is also thanks to you…"

"And just where would that be?" I was uncomfortable sitting in the chair so unprotected.

"Nibelheim, which as you know is now called the City of Mercenaries."

"I never told him to go there!"

"But you did!" He threw the file he had been reading onto my desk with force, "Right there! Don't insult my intelligence, President Rufus! You have video cameras everywhere; there's a good chance that the conversations that go on in here get written down and sent to you! Those papers right there clearly state that Cloud Strife came to you with a problem and you replied by telling him that most solutions to problems could now be found in Nibelheim. Proof enough for you? It is for me…"

"What do you have to gain from all this?" My hands gripped the chair tightly as Hojo pointed his gun directly at my face.

"I can return Sephiroth back to glorious life once Strife and the others are out of the way."

Relief came to my bones as three Soldiers entered the room, but it disappeared just as quickly when I realized their guns were pointed at me. "We couldn't get Reno, sir! He was too quick for us!" James Peterson, the most loyal person to Shinra I knew, what was he doing?

"That's okay, Soldier, he'll be dealt with soon enough."

"Hojo, how come my men are answering to you!"

"Silly Rufus, they've simply realized which is the winning side. On the count of three, I would like you all to fire on Mr. President Rufus here."

The three Soldier recruits aimed their rifles.

"So, you're trying to kill Reno are you?" My words had somehow regained their strength.

"That is correct, President Rufus. With him gone, Cloud will be easier to get rid of."

"He won't go so easily…" I carefully typed a note to the emergency room on my computer, a note that would allow them to let Rude leave. What about Elena and Tseng, would they walk into Hojo's trap?

"Three—"

I sent the note, quickly starting on another memo, this time addressed to Tseng's cell-phone; since Elena was always with him, I figured she wouldn't need one for herself.

"Two…do you have any last words, President Rufus?"

"As a matter of fact I do." my hand reached for the gun inside the compartment of my desk.

"Please hurry up so we can end this."

"Die!" I pulled the handgun out and fired a round at fire-extinguisher beside the three Soldiers; a thick white cloud hindered their sight. As I got up from my desk Hojo, the only person other than me not blinded by the gas, fired his gun as best he could; pain erupted in my right arm.

It was a miracle that I actually managed to escape from the room considering there were two more Soldiers just outside the door. Mary was dead, her lifeless head upon the desk.

"Don't just stand there, fools, get him!" Hojo pointed a frantic finger at me as he began firing once again.

Blood running from the wound on my arm, I dashed through another set of doors which opened up into a long hallway; at the other end was an elevator to the parking garage where my motorcycle awaited me.

"There he is, quickly now!" I didn't care who the voice came from, I was too busy wishing their bullets would miss me.

My hand beat against the parking garage button. A stray shot caught me in the stomach just as the doors were closing. "D-damn!" The elevator descended at a steady rate. When the doors open, I collapsed into the arms of someone whose presence calmed me greatly.

"Boss, we have to get out of here immediately! I got your message only moments ago; Elena is trying to hold them off from the car!"

"Tseng, I'm so glad to see you…yes, we must move swiftly, lest Hojo find us again."

"Hojo!" I'd left his name out of the note.

"I'll explain later, now let's go!"

When Elena saw both Tseng and I approaching she took the driver's seat and pushed the accelerator the instant we entered the vehicle. My eyes caught Rude spread out on the back seat; at least the Turks were still loyal to me.

………………………………………………………………………

So where was I supposed to go now? I was wanted by mercenaries, Shinra Inc. wasn't safe anymore, and I was all alone with barely any money to my name.

"I suppose I could head to Junon Harbor, yo. How far is that from here?" My head lowered as I tried to remember the distance. From the appearance of the land I was near where the Mythril Mines used to be before they were blown up to make way for the truck routes, the swamp just before the deceased mines had dried up long before that. If I simply followed the truck route I would come upon Fort Condor; it had been abandoned during the time the three Sephiroth children appeared.

"But what's past Fort Condor? I hate traveling on foot, when I'm in a car I don't have to worry about these things." Then I remembered, there was a crater-like body of water surrounded by mountainous peaks, the river leaking from the left of the odd creation was all that would separate me from Junon. I would have to hike quite a ways and then pass through the river before I could reach my destination.

My feet trudged along the road. "I hate walking, yo…"

* * *

That's it for now. The names of the mage and the medic will be revealed soon. I hope you all enjoyed this little New Years treat of mine. Yes, Cloud has showed up, but only in conversation; I still plan to keep him far from the main plot of the story. Anyway, I'll try to get to work on the next chapter as soon as I possibly can. Please review, I'm curious to know what you all thought. 


	6. Company in Fort Condor

Well, I've taken quite awhile to submit this chapter, and I apologize. My mind for the pastmonths has been occupied with projects, nightly homework, and relaxing during the weekends. I don't think I'll get my chapters edited anymore, though Cless' contributions were helpful it simplytook too long.Plus, I haven't spoken with him since the last timeI submitted a chapter. Anyway, considering I've taken so long (even though I've had this chapter done for a long time) I'll simply shut-up and let you all get to reading. Enjoy.

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* * *

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**Company in Fort Condor**

_What is this chill? Have I felt it before, perhaps in a dream?_

_"Reno—"_

_This fear, this unimaginable terror welling up from inside me, should I run? I'm afraid if I run the cold will get me and swallow me whole._

_"Reno…"_

_Who's calling me? Are they somewhere deep within the bone-chilling cold? Oh God, please let me be wrong. There's nothing around me, just the whistling sounds of ghostly winds. Is the owner of the voice waiting for me to move, only to assault me? Perhaps I should—_

_"Reno!" A horrific face is rushing towards me! The hand belonging to the monster is reaching outward; don't let it touch me!_

………………………………………………………………………

I shot up from where I laid on the ground, my heart beating at an erratic pace.

That dream, a terror in its own right, had the same creature that I had seen countless times before in my dreams of the crater, except he was becoming extremely vicious. What could this possibly mean?

A star twinkled in the sky above. Nighttime had fallen; how exactly did I end up going to sleep? I recalled passing through the remnants of Mythril Mines only to stumble to my knees, everything afterwards was a complete blank. From the looks of things, I had passed out quite a distance from the main road.

The darkness reminded me of the eerie solitude that the cold winds had brought in my dream; I rested my chin upon a pair of aching knees.

For a moment, I nodded off again, but the sound of a nearby engine roused me instantly. A familiar van was driving with a purpose down the distant road; it was the Shinra vehicle. Half of me wanted to chase after it hoping that one of the Turks were inside, but that was a very slim chance.

My conscience screamed at me to follow the vehicle, but I murdered its hopes by lying back down. The muffled whine of the distraught desires rebounded back and forth through my head before it inevitably slowed to a complete halt; the Shinra van was gone.

"Why did it have to be me?" I cursed the night sky, trying to muster up enough energy to continue my trip. A nearby disturbance coerced me to my feet instantaneously, gunfire!

An inhuman figure approached me through the darkness, wielding some sort of firearm in its right hand. A few shells were sent harmlessly into the air, lighting up enough of the creature's face for me to see my assailant; it appeared to be a goblin with enough dexterity to use a simple gun.

The goblin was alone, uncommon for this region, and it seemed to be bleeding from a wound on its side. Its running was a bit bizarre and it would stumble every few moments.

As it came close, I pulled my nightstick on him and swung downward on its skull; the sound of cracking bone reached my ears, the goblin was dead. Getting down on my knees, I examined the corpse; a small blade, probably a knife, had made the wound on the goblin's side.

"Idiot, that kill belonged to me!" An enraged hunter shoved me out of the way and looked down at the goblin dead on the ground.

"Don't worry about me, yo, I'm alright." I rolled my eyes, dusting the dirt off my clothes.

He confronted me, knocking me once again to the ground, "You should be glad to be so lucky! I ought to slay you where you stand for taking my prey!"

"What's the big deal about a little goblin? There's got to be hundreds if not thousands of them around here, yo." Reaching over, I carefully slipped the firearm the goblin had used into my pocket.

"I'd been stalking that one all day and night until you came along! Now I have to head back to Fort Condor without tonight's feast—"

"Wait a minute; did you just say Fort Condor?"

"That's right, boy, what's it to you?"

"If you must know, I was hoping to seek shelter there for a night or two; I can't stay too long."

The man's attention was captured, "Is there something you're running from?"

"Yes, the people I worked for turned on me…Shinra Inc."

"I see…well I can't promise much, but I'll see what I can do. Just follow me, I'll show you the quickest path to Fort Condor."

I wanted to thank him for his help, but he appeared to be the type who would rather be given something as gratification than hear words of appreciation.

For the first time, his attire struck me as odd; at first, I'd taken him for a simple hunter, but there was obviously much more. On his left arm was a tattoo of a crow, foreboding and ominous. The man's torso was clothed with animal skin while everything else he wore was strikingly similar to the type of things the Midgar citizens wore.

He had unruly black hair that was grown as to where it would fall perfectly onto his shoulders. His studious eyes were a deep blue, his skin was paler than any I'd ever seen, there were no signs of hunger on his face, and the man didn't seem to have much muscular strength to speak of.

"So, do you have a name I can call you by, yo?"

"Brogan…that's all I expect anyone to remember, boy."

Since I would be following him to Fort Condor, he swept the carcass of the dead goblin up over his right shoulder and headed off into the empty fields.

"What about you, boy, what do I call you?"

"Reno…"

"I could barely hear you, boy, speak up!"

"My name is Reno."

"So your voice **_can _**get louder; you had me worried for a bit there."

The man was mocking me, I didn't decide to take the bait and tease him back. I glanced behind me once, half expecting to see a stampede of goblins coming to get revenge on their brother, but nothing but an empty field greeted my eyes. My feet followed quickly along behind the hunter named Brogan.

The crow on his arm, curious in its own right, brought forth a question from me, "That tattoo, why do you have it?"

He looked at his forearm, a smile coming to his face as he answered, "Oh, this thing? An old fable from long ago depicts the crow as the bringer of light to the people of eternal night. Our people use it as a symbol to represent our realization of the freedom we've always been missing because of Shinra."

"Shinra! But Shinra does nothing but give freedom to the people! That's what we're for, yo!"

"Quiet down, boy! You're making a fool out of yourself. If Shinra is for the people then why are they trying to hunt you down?"

I had no explanation.

"Don't worry, it takes everyone awhile to get used to knowing the fact that we've been used."

"Used for what exactly?"

"We're nothing but tools to Shinra; fodder used to feed their incurable hunger."

My right hand began to tighten into a fist before realizing the futility of fighting the man with the crow tattoo. "That's not true; I wouldn't have worked so hard for so many years for something like that, yo. Not anymore…"

"I didn't name you in particular now did I, boy?"

Silence once again. I didn't like talking with this man; he made me question everything I believed in. He made me question Shinra, the Turks, Midgar; he even made me question my entire existence. "How can you be so sure?"

"Sure about what?"

"About Shinra, how can you be so sure they want nothing but to ruin your lives!"

"Settle down, boy…I was waiting for you ask me that."

My heart sank.

"Don't worry; for once you have a point. I can't know anything for sure, all I can do is follow my instincts," he paused momentarily, "and my instincts tell me that even if Shinra isn't trying to destroy us, that there must be something better despite that fact."

I watched the goblin sway to-and-fro over his shoulder, pondering what could be better than living under Shinra's jurisdiction.

"The crow on my arm symbolizes a bit more for me. When I think of this crow I imagine a caged bird. That caged bird doesn't want to stay caged forever, you know? Even if when the bird is released it falls prey to a hunter's trap then it has the satisfaction of knowing it found out what was beyond its little cage." His eyes focused on the crow as he spoke, almost as if he figured the bird was listening to his every word.

"Most of the hunters I've seen don't hunt crows, yo." My joke elicited a chuckle from Brogan's lips.

"Touché, Reno!" It was the first time he'd called me by my name.

"So, Fort Condor, how's it keeping up these days?"

This time he was silent.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Worse. Every day it's bombarded by attacks from the local creatures; it's become to where most of us can't walk around alone outside during the day. The children are getting sick from lack of exposure to the sun, and most of the adults have succumbed to stealing food to keep their own families fed. I'm one of the few who've dared to reap the nearby land of its few easy meals."

"And yet you still hope to fight Shinra? I'm not proud of it, but even the weakest of Soldier could destroy your people in no time."

"Don't underestimate us, boy. Though our group might be turning into a pack of thieves and sick children, we still have the will to fight."

"You remind me of the people I used to work with, yo."

"How do you mean?"

"Fighting when things look bleak, that's what the Turks are known—"

"You're a Turk!" Brogan turned to me with rage while taking a threatening step forward.

I reached down to the handgun in my pocket, trying to figure out what my next words would do to the hunter, "Yes, and we would never in a million years entertain thoughts of hurting your people, neither would most in Shinra for that matter."

He studied me for a moment before facing the other way and heading onward.

I released my hand from the handle of the gun and carefully began following Brogan once again. In the distance I could see the top of Fort Condor coming into view.

"I warn you…if you say the word 'Turks' after we reach Fort Condor you better say your prayers in addition."

"What if someone asks where I'm from, yo? I'm not used to lying about my association with Shinra."

"You better learn; I'll tell everyone you're from Junon."

"That's funny, yo."

"Hmm, what do you mean?"

"I'm supposed to be heading **_to_** Junon to catch a carrier."

"Where are you going from there, boy? The carriers there still only take people from Junon to Costa del Sol and back."

"I know, but I have to get to—," I was sure he more than likely wouldn't know what the crater was, so I half-lied, "—Icicle Inn."

"Why there?"

"The scenery, yo; I hear it's lovely this time of year."

He laughed and retorted, "In other words, it's none of my business."

"It's something I'd rather keep to myself, no offense to you, of course."

"No offense taken, boy." He focused on Fort Condor; a group of people dressed just like Brogan were approaching. "If you want to get to Icicle Inn you'll have to somehow make your way to Rocket Town after you get to Costa del Sol. It'll be a long trek, but I think you'll be able to handle it."

"That's a good plan, but why Rocket Town? That place has less going on in it than in the brain of a Chocobo."

"I hear word that they've built a boat launch near there that heads just about anywhere anyone would want to go. Junon, Wutai, Cosmo Canyon; it even goes to Icicle Inn. There are also rumors they take you to the infamous Goblin Forest; I've always wanted to go there so I could return to Fort Condor with a huge feast, but the trip is long and perilous."

I got the feeling he wanted to go with me to Rocket Town, "If I somehow manage to think of a way to get to Junon on foot would you like to come with me?"

He grinned almost too much, "You caught on to my hinting pretty fast, you're smarter than I thought. With a little preparation I'd be more than happy to accompany you."

With his gaze turned away from me I rolled my eyes; this trip would be hard enough alone, let alone with someone else to watch over. Other than Rude, I didn't like to have someone tagging along at my side over long distances.

"Brogan, did you hunt down that little vermin we sighted last week taking our food!" A rather muscular man waved a bulky hand towards the brave hunter blocking me from view. To tell you the truth the voice sort of startled me.

"Not I, per say; I had a little help." He moved aside, revealing me for all to see. I felt like an experiment put on display.

"Who is he!"

"The whelp looks like he's from Midgar…"

"Then he could be from Shinra, right?"

"Shinra! Maybe we should torture him until he tells us everything he knows!"

Brogan pushed a button at his side, sending a noise through the air that hurt the ears. All of the hunters so quick to judge me simply turned their heads to face the man who sent off the sound; it didn't affect them like it did me. I fell to the ground and had to hold my ears for a few moments after the pain subsided to get back to my feet.

"Didn't damage your ears did I, boy?" He gave me a **_pat_** on the back. Brogan explained his reasons for starting the device at his side, "Relax, he's from Junon. The boy just came down for a couple days for his art."

"So you mean he's a—"

"Yes, he's an artist from Junon."

Artist? I wouldn't have come up with anything better, but I knew absolutely nothing about artists except that some of them paint and some of them use pencils.

"Here to draw the wonderful wildlife, eh?" The rather buff man with a bald head, which reminded me of Rude, raised his eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yes…putting my brush to a sketchpad is what I live for." Glancing aside, my gut yelled for me to get away; this was the second time it told me something that I didn't have any intention of listening to. Which of the two types of artists used a sketchpad anyway; for some reason I couldn't call the answer to mind.

Brogan, in an attempt to save me from revealing my true profession, grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. As we entered Fort Condor, he shouted back to the bald man, "The two of us are going to take tonight's dinner to the kitchen! I'll meet up with you later to talk about the strange creatures that suddenly disappeared from around Midgar!"

I had almost forgotten about the creatures that had officially ruined the lives of many; the truck that had left Shinra Inc. had strangely met up with no opposition from the hell-spawn.

"So, interested in a little rest yet?" Shifting the goblin to his other shoulder, Brogan gave me a glance.

"Not as interested as I am to know exactly how an artist, who apparently has no armaments to speak of, can take down a goblin, yo."

"You can be an artist or you can be dead—your choice." He was suddenly not too happy with me.

I then decided for my stay in Fort Condor I would be the best damn artist anyone had ever seen, even if it was only my words saying so.

The two of us entered a small hallway with chalk all over the floor; two children were trying to draw crows on the wall with a piece of chalk in their hands, but the crows looked more like eggs with wings to me. When we got closer, the two pairs of eyes noticed Brogan, and then they fell upon me; they suddenly stopped scribbling.

Brogan and I had only been in the room for a second before he asked, "Hey, could you go bring the goblin up to the kitchen? It's right down the hall, shouldn't be too hard to find it."

When I left the room I was met with something eerie, there were two children at the rock wall before and now there was only one. Even stranger, the chalk had been scattered in an almost frantic manner down the hall. The little boy went on drawing even after I spoke, "Hey, kid, where was the girl who was with you?"

He finished his crow, which had now been modified to have the body of a balloon with a stick in the middle, and stared up at me. The girl's picture had been scratched out with chalk.

"The girl, where did she go, yo?"

"—What girl are you talking about?" His voice was innocent yet…strangely threatening.

"There was a girl here only a few moments ago! Did she walk away or—"

He looked at me as if I was crazy.

I shook my head, perhaps I was losing it. Quickly throwing the goblin over my shoulder in a similar fashion to Brogan, I rushed down the hall and tried to find the kitchen. The long-haired hunter with the crow tattoo was right, it wasn't that hard to find.

A few curious faces turned away from the food they were preparing long enough to see who I was. Extending my arms, I tried to offer it to a nearby cook, "Excuse me, I was told to bring this here."

"Put it over there!" He sliced the chicken between his hands directly in two.

I looked; I didn't see where he wanted me to put the goblin. As I began to ask him to repeat himself he shoved me aside.

"If you want to be of some use to us then help out by gutting that for tonight's meal!" A cook across the kitchen indicated the goblin in my hands with her knife.

With a sigh I placed the goblin on a nearby cutting board; I reached for a blade of my own to make an incision. "Great, now I'm reduced to **_this_** dirty work." A few moments later, I noticed silence had filled the kitchen that had been bustling and almost annoyingly talkative only seconds ago. I turned to see I was alone. Thinking nothing of it, I faced the goblin only to find it had disappeared from the cutting board. "What in the—" There was a sound of glass shattering in the nearby room.

Putting down the knife, I made my way for the door. "Hello, is anyone there?"

No answer.

The boy that had been in the hallway was still there, drawing yet another picture of a crow. Just as I was about to walk closer to the boy I noticed the chalk on the ground had been crushed in a trail down the hall towards the kitchen. Moving my feet, I noticed that there was chalk on the floor, but my shoes didn't have a bit of it on them.

My hand went to the handgun in my pocket; it didn't have many rounds, but it was better than nothing.

The boy sang; I was frozen in place, "Oh, crow of light, save us from the darkness; bring us wonder from afar to show us what we've missed. One, two, the crow will come; three, four, the light will come; five, six, and then **_he_** will come to take it all away—"

"He—"

The boy's head turned to face me, but his body didn't follow, "Yes…he will come. Actually, he already has."

I took a step back.

"**_He_** is everywhere…"

"Let me guess, he's nowhere too, yo?"

"No," Anger flared up in his eyes, "that's not what I said!" Suddenly, his hands began forming into claws belonging to a wraith.

"Y-you're one of them! Brogan, we need to get out of here now!" I pulled the handgun from my pocket and held it firmly between both my hands.

Brogan didn't enter into the hallway.

"**_Brogan! _**What did you do to him!" The hammer of the pistol clicked in place, ready to fire.

"Oh, he's fine…the hunter Brogan is asleep right now; I'll get to him when he wakes up."

"What happened to all the people here? Did you hurt them in any way?"

"Hurt them? Why no, most of them are wraiths just like me."

I began to pull the trigger.

"Go ahead…do it!" He rushed forward and nearly sent a clawed hand straight through my chest; I managed to roll out of the way, crashing into the wall in the process. The boy continued to morph back into the monster he was.

My arms rose again to try and fire the gun; a hand curled around my neck from behind.

………………………………………………………………………

"Sir, we can't go for much longer like this. Tseng is started to get tired." The least experienced Turk, Elena, worried greatly for Tseng. I also noticed he was beginning to look a little worn.

We couldn't stop, we had to keep going. "Sorry, but we have to push for just a bit longer. If need be I'll drive."

"That's all right, boss. I think I can handle it." He focused his eyes on the road.

Rude tossed and turned in the back seat; whatever the problem was, it appeared to be getting worse.

"Where do we go from here, sir?" Elena still sounded so green compared to the other Turks.

"Anywhere safe…" That was all I said during that drive. We'd passed through the Mythril Mines only an hour ago, and we were now approaching Fort Condor. I knew the place to be thriving with rebels against Shinra, so Tseng steered clear of the place when he saw my displeasure at his mention of Fort Condor. Awhile back on the trail I had sworn I had seen Reno lying out in the field…I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

That's it for now. I'm trying to find time to work on this fanfiction again, considering I actually like writing this one. The only thing keeping me from getting the next chapter finished is basically this, I don't seem to feelcomfortable no matter how I start it out. I guess I'm waiting for some ideas. As always, please let me know how I'm doing by reviewing. 


	7. Adrift on the Tides

Yikes! I can't believe how long it has taken to get back to this story. It would be hopeless to try and describe how mad I am at myself for going on such a long hiatus, and how sorry I am to any readers who had been fretting over what would happen next. Unfortunately, Reno won't get much of a "Welcome Back" in this chapter, as I kept him out of it entirely; for those who enjoyed reading how I portrayed Reno, you'll just have to wait for the next installment.

Now you're probably asking, "Well how long will that take?" I want to assure you that I particularly hated writing this chapter, which is quite obvious when you take a peek at how utterly short it is; in fact, it's approximately half of what I've been writing. That's not to say you won't enjoy reading it, it's more of what you've been reading already, except for the fact that Reno isn't in it. The next chapter should be extremely easier to write; at least, that's what I'm hoping.

Anyway, read on. This is the first chapter focusing entirely on the Turks sans Reno, so go easy on me; it'll take some work to adjust to their personalities, though I feel that I did a passable job.

* * *

**Adrift on the Tides**

Written by: Viewing Pleasure

They were still speaking. I kept my eyes closed as I listened in. Their voices droned like a dull buzz through my skull.

"Well where are we supposed to go?"

"I'll go where the boss tells me—"

"But Tseng—!"

"Enough, what do you think he'd say if he heard you talking like this?"

"He'd probably tell me I'm not acting like a Turk, but instead like a whiny little child." The poor girl seemed disappointed, had Tseng's words struck a chord?

"Exactly, Elena, now I don't—we're being followed."

The nauseating aroma of bile reached my nostrils, in the back seat Rude was grasping at his chest. A quick bump from behind threw him forward out of the seat, and me straight into the dashboard. I managed to keep a curse down as my nose made a painful collision.

Elena pulled me back just as I was about to go unconscious, "Sir, speak to me, are you okay!"

"Fine—just a little shook up, that's all." With a quick glance out the back window, as foggy as it was, I whispered, "Tseng, what exactly is on our tail?"

"From what I can tell it looks like one of those wraiths. The damn things don't know when to quit, do they? I don't understand what they want with us."

"I never thought it would come to this—do you think we were right to rebuild Shinra?"

"Sir?" Two unsure gazes were cast upon me in unison.

"That's why these things are here—not to mention to punish us for banishing Sephiroth."

The unstable van vaulted harmlessly into the air as we hit another bump in the road. "But who would possibly—" Tseng cocked his head to see our pursuers; we were still being followed.

"Hojo—it's too much of a coincidence. He shows up just after you Turks run into the army of wraiths, the two have to be related."

Rude began vomiting once again, followed by a violent cough. Was there anything left in his overturned stomach? His face was as pale as a sheet, and the little inconveniences that kept sending the vehicle flying weren't helping matters. "What's the nearest place we can head to?"

My question was met with silence—possibly due to my waning voice—until suddenly Rude himself managed to spit out, "Junon—!"

Truly these were the thoughts of an insane man. Why, to get there we'd have to—"To get there we'd have cross over the mountains."

Tseng was quick to voice his opinion, the same problems recognized in my own mind, "But, sir, we're not properly equipped to attempt such a feat."

"Don't we always carry hiking supplies in the back of the van?" The only female Turk's words echoed for a few moments, suddenly she began to realize, as was plain on her face, that this particular Shinra vehicle had not been subject to any of the usual checks for a long time.

Clearing his throat, Tseng continued, giving an apologetic glance as Elena used her hands to hide any shed tears, "As I was saying, without any gear we won't be able to get to Junon at all. I suggest that we simply wait for—"

Blood poured onto the carpet; Rude's breathing became silent.

I had nothing left but to hope for the best, "Waiting is something we just can't do at the moment. To Junon."

There was no reply, no fear, no suggestions—my words would soon be following the wishes of a dead man if any time were wasted frivolously. We could only yearn that by some stroke of luck the river leading out of the mountains had dried up.

A high-pitched screech threatened to pierce our eardrums as a claw tore through the steel plating on the back of the van. As it forced itself inside, it almost seemed to grow to a larger extension of the creature's arm.

We swerved to the left. A wail so painful sounded through the night as the wraith lost its claw, dark blood pouring in mass amounts into the back of the vehicle.

Time seemed to freeze as the wraiths neared closer and closer to us, but all of a sudden they disappeared in thick clouds of black mist. The van slowed to a stop, the tires trying to gather friction on the loosely packed gravel.

My eyes turned to Tseng.

He returned my gaze as his hands moved down to the stick shift, the gears grinding as he put the vehicle into park. A feeble wind rocked against the paneling on the outside, bringing forth a very foreboding noise.

The door slid carefully open at Elena's touch, and a brisk air seemed to rush over her; she shivered in response, "B-boss, the coast is clear. Those monsters have disappeared without a trace."

"It could be a trick," My words of warning went unheeded.

Tseng, surveying the area momentarily, wandered off in search of something.

"We don't have time to be dawdling about, Rude is in danger of dying!" I watched helplessly as my shouts were stifled by a nearby waterfall as it pounded relentlessly on a gathering of boulders.

In a similar lack of common sense, Elena began to flee the vehicle, stopping not far off to kneel before a miniature field of flowers. I could just barely hear her singing a melodic tune as she yanked a few flowers away from their stems, setting the remainder of the beautiful flora into the pocket at her side.

I turned in my seat and started the arduous task of patching up Rude's wounds as best I could; pouring water from a nearby canteen down his throat.

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Such pretty flowers, I had to take some with me on the trip, maybe I could even give them to the one I pined for. I blushed at the thought, clutching my reddening cheeks. My heart started beating faster just imagining his lips brushing up against mine.

"Oh, Tseng, why can't we just get away from all this? I'm tired of this constant chaos, I don't even think you notice me anymore," Tracing a circle in the dirt at my feet, I stared off into the distance.

For a moment, my mind went completely blank, but then suddenly an icy gust of wind thrashed against my shoulders. I rubbed my arms to try and warm them up, but to no avail. Hopefully focusing my attention on picking flowers would help me forget how cold I was.

"_Daisy, Daisy—give me your answer true—_" The sound of young children singing filled the area. Although the song wasn't meant to be a threatening melody, it was so out of place that an uneasy feeling started to awaken in my stomach.

I stumbled backwards into the dirt, and my left leg cried out in pain.

"_I'm half crazy over the love of you—_" They were getting much closer. Is this why the wraiths retreated so quickly?

While hightailing back to the van, I bumped my head against the door frame. Tears coming to my eyes, I held the spot in pain, shouting at the top of my lungs, "**Tseng**! Get back here! We have to go!"

Rufus looked me over as if I had grown a second head, "What's the matter with you? Did something happen out there?"

Ignoring his question, I raised my voice, yelling yet again, "Did you hear me! We have to get out here!"

"_Daisy, Daisy—give me your answer true—_" Even Rufus heard their eerie chorus this time around.

"As much as it pains me to say it, we can't wait for Tseng to get back."

"But—!"

"We saw him head off west, start the van, maybe we can catch up to him."

With a bit of reluctance, I shifted over into the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel with both hands. My foot pushed down on the accelerator, and for a moment I was shocked to find that we weren't going anywhere.

"You forgot to put the vehicle into drive—" He crouched down onto the carpet, holding tightly onto a nearby handle.

Slowly moving the stick shift, the sound of the van's mechanics soothed my fear. Then disorder entered inside as the window of the passenger seat shattered into multiple shards of glass, decorating the floor in a hectic manner.

"Go! Go!" The boss' finger hovered inches from my face.

The screeching of the tires as we took off shook my nerves for a moment.

"What if we can't find him, sir?"

"Then we'll just have to keep going. Tseng is tough; he can fend for himself out there. Right now Rude is our top priority, I won't let him go knowing that I didn't try my hardest to save him."

My grip on the wheel grew tighter and tighter, causing the skin on my fingers to become taut. Nothing escaped my watchful eyes as I raced to find Tseng.

My eyes darted right—nothing.

They darted left—nothing.

All around us was a field of nothingness caught in a disorienting mist of dull grey. The voices of the children still followed after us, becoming sort of an omnipresent being; I couldn't exactly tell where it was coming from.

Deep in my heart, the realization that Tseng had gone missing was finally noticed. I drove onward, trying to escape from whatever meant us harm.

Why were we always caught up in chaos? Why?

* * *

That's it, did you enjoy it? I certainly hope you did, considering the annoyance this chapter caused me. Tseng's gone missing, eh? Well, he won't be too sorely missed; at least, not for very long. I have plans for him, so you can be sure he'll be back.

As always, I love reading your reviews, especially if they have criticism on how I can better myself, so please, if you have the time leave me a little something. It would be wonderful to know how I've been doing.


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